C5 Targa rear squeak

[Invetterate]

Really sorry to hear about your mother - sounds like you have been going through a really tough time. I know about depression and the problems with the car can't be helping. I really hope you start feeling at least a little better very soon.

As regards the car - where are you located in the country?

 

[Krusty]

Thanks TeamZR1, these are points I will certainly look at. Thanks for taking the time to send that. Any particular brand of silicone spray that is better than others?
Also until my new wire set arrives, I'm pretty much stuck doing nothing...

Thanks also Invetterate, it really has been and still is difficult. I'm on my own also (last in line, no more family) and it makes dealing with it even harder. My friends have been amazing, even when I've needlessly lashed out on them due to my mental health! but I can't expect them to be there 24/7. Trying to stay strong and chase the light at the end of the tunnel, as they say. The car obviously hasn't helped with everything... I just feel it has been 1 problem after the next, and the next, and so on.
I am located in WA11 area of the North West.

 

[teamzr1]

You can get products like this that treat vinyl, rubber, and plastic trim such as
I would look at this one first

Good for rubber seals

https://www.amazon.com/3-ONE-Care-Rubber-Conditioner/dp/B07PKV279Y/ref=sr_1_16?crid=2U7RJKNK7Y2EK&keywords=rubber%2Brejuvenator&qid=1672528033&s=automotive&sprefix=rubber%2Brejuvenat%2Cautomotive%2C143&sr=1-16&th=1#customerReviews

Other types

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-TVD11116-Hypercoat-Dressing/dp/B01MTMQZKZ/ref=sr_1_17?crid=3T07KLURZX4Q0&keywords=silicone&qid=1672526481&sprefix=sil%2Cspecialty-aps%2C121&sr=8-17&srs=21445310011&th=1

Or this

https://www.amazon.com/CarGuys-Plastic-Restorer-Ultimate-Solution/dp/B071FRWWRF/ref=sr_1_11?crid=2U7RJKNK7Y2EK&keywords=rubber+rejuvenator&qid=1672527722&s=automotive&sprefix=rubber+rejuvenat%2Cautomotive%2C143&sr=1-11#customerReviews

This one is well liked

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-TVD_107_16-Non-Greasy-Dressing/dp/B00FJIT9BO/ref=psdc_15718571_t4_B01MTMQZKZ?th=1

 

[Invetterate]

Thanks TeamZR1, these are points I will certainly look at. Thanks for taking the time to send that. Any particular brand of silicone spray that is better than others?
Also until my new wire set arrives, I'm pretty much stuck doing nothing...

Thanks also Invetterate, it really has been and still is difficult. I'm on my own also (last in line, no more family) and it makes dealing with it even harder. My friends have been amazing, even when I've needlessly lashed out on them due to my mental health! but I can't expect them to be there 24/7. Trying to stay strong and chase the light at the end of the tunnel, as they say. The car obviously hasn't helped with everything... I just feel it has been 1 problem after the next, and the next, and so on.
I am located in WA11 area of the North West.

I do have some understanding of what you are going through. I am glad you have some good friends - that really helps although, as you say, they can't be there all the time. Just be kind to yourself and take some time. The car doesn't need to be sorted by a given date and you will get there. There is a lot of enjoyment to be had from them and I do hope you can get to that point. I was hoping you might live a bit nearer to me as I would have been happy to meet up and discuss it, but I live diametrically across the country in Essex! However, you can find my number on the inside back cover of Vette News if you want a chat at some point. I will also try to see if anybody in your neck of the woods is into C5s - can't promise anything, but you never know!

Anyway, for now, take care and I hope 2023 is much better for you.

Cheers

Mark Eaton

 

[Mr. Cricket]

Ste, don't throw in the towel just yet as it is a lovely example. Have a mate ride with you who can focus on the squeak and have a prod and poke around while you drive and I've no doubt it'll be something simple. Parts USA in Stockport have been around these Corvettes for ever (former Bauer & Millet) so a call to them would be worth it as they may have come across the issue before?

• 13 The Gate Centre, Bredbury Park Way, Stockport, United Kingdom
  
  
  
  0161 872 7744
  
  
  
  info@partsUSA.co.uk

I had two C5's back in the day that were weekend warriors and remember those both suffering if the battery was allowed to run down even slightly. A mate nearby just bought his second Corvette - a C5 and had issues which we diagnosed over the phone as a week battery and he got one the next day from Tanya. I went to his to help him fit it but before we did I tested it and it was at 13.7v which is plenty so I looked elsewhere and it turned out the neg lead wasn't tight on the battery. Do'h

Plenty of NW members in your neck of the woods so let me know if I need to reach out and get you someone to ride with you?

Stuart

 

[Krusty]

New plug wires came and they keep falling off the spark plugs. I'm not an idiot before you think I'm not pushing them on to the plug properly! I'm fitting them perfect, they click on as they should. As soon as I start and rev the car, a few of them randomly decide to keep popping off the plugs and I can't figure out why because they push back on and clip on again as they should????

 

[teamzr1]

Might be possible that there are C-clips on the end of plug wires as I show below are missing
Look and see if that is the case. Maybe they were in the shipping box ?
Could you take them off the old wires and put on new ones ?

Were the plug wires the same length and ends same size as old ones ?

Also, the end of sparkplugs have an end piece that screws onto the end and maybe those are not on the plugs ?

Look closely and see if those C clips are on as shown on left side, where right side clip is missing

 

[Krusty]

Might be possible that there are C-clips on the end of plug wires as I show below are missing
Look and see if that is the case. Maybe they were in the shipping box ?
Could you take them off the old wires and put on new ones ?

Were the plug wires the same length and ends same size as old ones ?

Also, the end of sparkplugs have an end piece that screws onto the end and maybe those are not on the plugs ?

Look closely and see if those C clips are on as shown on left side, where right side clip is missing


View attachment 20754

I can't see any of them clips you have mentioned in both the old leads or the new leads...... I refitted an old lead just to rule out me missing something obvious, but the old ones definitely clicked on with a stronger feel.

Anyway, I got up and to it in the dark at 7am this morning
The new leads are only slightly longer than the stock GM ones, but they're advertised as an upgrade from the standard 7mm wire to a 10mm wire which is why I bought them. They just need to be routed sympathetically so they don't touch anything hot obviously or in a way that they can be pulled etc.
I took each one off and with a spare spark plug with the same top cap, I tweaked them with a pair of pliers so that they now fit with a nice, solid click on to the plug. I then refitted them and routed the wires as mentioned above.
I'm happy with the fitment of the wires now... so its time to order a new battery as my current ACDELCO is definitely toast! The condition sight glass is completely Black which ACDELCO indicates it's at the end of its life.




I also gave it an 8am clean, just so it can look awesome by 9am



Going to take it for a good run today just to make sure everything is fine and confirm that the spark plug wires stay secure
Then I can concentrate on the rear squeak and oil leak/s

 

[Krusty]

Plug caps are a success!
Just had a 64 mile round trip along motorways, A roads, B roads and through 2 major towns which involved me being stuck in very slow moving and stationary traffic for quite a bit.
So I can tick that off the list of jobs

Check Engine light was on again for P0107 (MAP sensor low voltage) before I set off... again, the code cleared fine and didn't reappear whilst driving the 64 miles and the car behaved normally.
I've ordered a new Yuasa battery from Tayna which I should have tomorrow, so more updates on that when it arrives and I've fitted it.

The squeak is still there and I'm 99.9% positive it's an interior squeak!
I haven't yet tried any of what you suggested. I'm on my way out now to buy some silicone spray

In regards to my oil leak, I have just got a picture.
So, the car was completely cleaned and free of any oil residue before I set off. Again, I've just done 64 miles and when I got home, the little pool of oil has appeared in the same place.
Again, I have tried to find where this is coming from but all surrounding areas are dry!



It's located behind the water pump on the right hand side of the motor.
I just get oil appearing on that square piece of the engine as you can see...
It hasn't ran down the motor, hasn't seeped from behind the exhaust manifold somewhere and like I said, all surrounding areas are dry from what I can see
Any ideas???
or time for an engine dye kit on that issue

 

[teamzr1]

Plug caps are a success!
Just had a 64 mile round trip along motorways, A roads, B roads and through 2 major towns which involved me being stuck in very slow moving and stationary traffic for quite a bit.
So I can tick that off the list of jobs

Check Engine light was on again for P0107 (MAP sensor low voltage) before I set off... again, the code cleared fine and didn't reappear whilst driving the 64 miles and the car behaved normally.
I've ordered a new Yuasa battery from Tayna which I should have tomorrow, so more updates on that when it arrives and I've fitted it.

The squeak is still there and I'm 99.9% positive it's an interior squeak!
I haven't yet tried any of what you suggested. I'm on my way out now to buy some silicone spray

In regards to my oil leak, I have just got a picture.
So, the car was completely cleaned and free of any oil residue before I set off. Again, I've just done 64 miles and when I got home, the little pool of oil has appeared in the same place.
Again, I have tried to find where this is coming from but all surrounding areas are dry!

View attachment 20785

It's located behind the water pump on the right hand side of the motor.
I just get oil appearing on that square piece of the engine as you can see...
It hasn't ran down the motor, hasn't seeped from behind the exhaust manifold somewhere and like I said, all surrounding areas are dry from what I can see
Any ideas???
or time for an engine dye kit on that issue

You sound better as your post few days ago sounded like you were going to shoot your C5

These wires are too fricking thick and harder for them to bend and not put stress on how they fit to coil and tip of spark plug
they also are too long
Being there are 8 coils, not just one and only few inches long there is no voltage loss from the coils and do not need bigger ones
as zero gains, and in fact could have more resistance than stock ones
In any case as long as engine is running with no misfires than leave them

The bolt in your image is from the cross coolant lines, as I show for my 99 C5
They pull the hotter temps of the 4 outer cylinders via the heads

If that is where the leak is, that is a slight mix of coolant and oil in engine block
You might luck out and just need to torque that bolt down

If not, as I show, Doorman sells the gaskets that fit between block and bottom of that coolant connection

It does not look like oil stains, so looks like that coolant connection

You can buy some dye, first put in coolant and see if that is where leak is and if not
Then test with dye in the oil, that should then pinpoint where the leak is

As to noise, find a kid, have him ride in the hatch and have them locate where the sound is coming from,
else do as I mentioned in other post to track it down

 

[teamzr1]

Here is a better image of the seals used at each coolant bypass connections, If I recall I go them for Doorman, maybe sold at rockauto
or maybe someone local to you sells them
As you see, part # is 56390

But to replace them the intake manifold has to come off, I do like in 30 minutes
Again I am not certain that is where the leak is, maybe if you can smell that area or wipe that down
and then smell rag and tell if oil or coolant

Or maybe for a short fix is put a sealer around it and see if that helps pinpoint as that being the leak ?

 

[Krusty]

Thanks for all that, I just needed to step away from the car for a few days, work on a few of my motorcycles and then come back to it.

It is DEFINITELY oil that is leaking.
I am a motorcycle mechanic by profession so I know the difference
I have searched high and low for this leak even with my inspection camera and I just can't find it!
The lines you mention are all completely dry also.
It might be worth mentioning also that I've never noticed this oil until I changed my rocker cover seals. I have triple checked the seals and I'm 100% positive they are sealed and not leaking.
I have also put a new PCV system on because the original had fractured over the years. After I removed the old pipe and before fitting the new pipe, I had a look with my inspection camera again and also used a few different mirrors to see in 'hard to look' places, but I still failed to find anything suspicious.
I can wipe that patch of oil clean now and leave my car running for as long as I want... it will not show any signs of oil. But as soon as I go for a drive as little as a 20 mile round trip, the patch of oil will be back there again it only appears after the car has been driven
It really is an odd one

 

[teamzr1]

Cannot see any oil leaking there as to that photo

Maybe get some degreaser and spray that side, so it is nice and clean or use a higher pressure car washer

Then add the dye (auto parts stores should have it for engine oil)
Do a testrun and then most dye kits come with a special light or yellow glasses determine where it is leaking
before waiting and oil runs down, making it harder to see where leak started

 

[Krusty]

Cannot see any oil leaking there as to that photo

Maybe get some degreaser and spray that side, so it is nice and clean or use a higher pressure car washer

Then add the dye (auto parts stores should have it for engine oil)
Do a testrun and then most dye kits come with a special light or yellow glasses determine where it is leaking
before waiting and oil runs down, making it harder to see where leak started

View attachment 20788

Just that patch... right there.
That is oil you can see on that bit of the engine.
I can honestly wipe that surface as clean as the face above it with ease.
I can run the engine all day on my driveway and it will stay perfectly clean.
As soon as I go for a drive, that pool of oil returns every single time in that exact same spot! This picture was taken today after my 64 mile round trip... but it will still present itself in as little as a 20 mile round trip.
Again, I can't trace it because everything around it seems to be completely dry and I can't find anything suspicious with the use of my inspection camera either.
It's really puzzling me

 

[teamzr1]

Then suspect the head gasket
Could pull that valve cover and try tightening the head bolts
They are torque to yield bolts so once stretched using a torque wrench is useless but could tighten more and see if enough

Maybe exhaust manifold gasket, being leak is so small just at idle not allow of exhaust flow, but driving would increase the pressure flow and then leak

There are products for engine oil to stop leaks that work fine and maybe cheap fix

That lower head corner to block and exhaust looks like exhaust carbon'ed up that corner and maybe bit of oil in exhaust
How's the sparkplug color for # 2 cylinder ?

 

[Krusty]

This is what I hoped wasn't the case.
But it is what it is, if it is...
Honestly, the leak is so minor at the moment that its at the back of the 'to do' list.
I changed the plugs recently and found nothing untoward... I was actually quite pleased as they all showed a healthy tan colour.

I'll give it all a good clean and degrease toward the end of the month.
I want to fit the new battery as my old one is now completely knackered. I've had confirmation from Tayna that it will arrive tomorrow.
Hopefully that will cure the P0107 code on start up
Then I want to have a fiddle around for the squeaks which you sent me the picture of what to check and use silicone spray (which I got today).
Once happy with all that, I'll then concentrate on this strange leak

I'll keep you updated tomorrow

 

[Krusty]

New battery has arrived
Car starts lovely now where as it struggled before.

The 'Check Engine' light still shows for P0107 upon start up, but clears fine as before.
I did notice that whilst the car is running, I can clear the code manually and the check engine light goes out. But as soon as I click along the other diagnostic modes and back again to PCM, the code has returned but shows no check engine light???
What am I missing here?

p.s. Could I have pulled on the wiring for the MAP sensor by accident whilst fitting the new PCV system? As I believe the MAP sensor is located in the rear of the intake manifold on these cars...and I've just noticed the wiring is a bit tightly pulled, over the PCV piping

Cheers

 

[teamzr1]

GM decides at what level a problem is and sets a timer for each
This is done within the tuning calibration in your PCM

Looking at your tune, you can see the DTC P0107 is set to a "type B" error
So in this case the MIL does not turn on until the problem is seen 2 times
This means than that you clear DTCs that turns MIL off
but DTC trips first time, so MIL is not on, but looking for DTCs the P0107 shows.

Keep in mind, every time you clear DTCs you also then forced all on-board smog tests to be erased
and PCM has to retest off of them again

So back to what I posted before

1, Map sensor itself is bad
2. Wiring problem
3. Has an engine vacuum leak
4. Being a side posts battery, known to leak acid which falls down and melts wiring

As I mentioned in another post to you, right next to MAP is a small vacuum hose,
this goes to a vacuum reserve tank that is above where the PCM is.
Acid could have melted hose, hence leak, or maybe the small hose came off when you near the MAP sensor

If hose is the issue, that vacuum is used to control the HVAC doors, test HVAC to see if using heat, A/C, etc that the doors correctly open close the airflow to upper or lower ducts
You have to get a light to closely look at MAP sensor, the wiring and the pins to connector and if the 1/8th inch hose is connected

Here is your setting for DTC P0107

 

[Krusty]

Well... I'm ashamed to say it, but I have obviously unplugged the MAP sensor when I installed the PCV pipe

With the help of my inspection camera, I managed to plug it back in


I have just plugged it back in and it works absolutely fine
No Check Engine light
No codes
And I've even spotted a little oil running down to where my oil leak problem is

Today has been a good day for my Corvette

 

[teamzr1]

Great news !
The engine would also run like crap with no MAP signal as the PCMs fuel injectors ON time and timing depending on what MAP reports

MAP is the inverse of vacuum, so PCM cannot properly command engine functions without correct MAP readings
Again, a OBD-II scanner used would have spotted this in 30 seconds of your time

Now drive the C5 as PCM has to relearn all driving conditions and adjust, needs at least good 20 miles and mix up the RPMs, speeds,
engine loads, idle, et so PCM can relearn and make adjustments